The Darko Death
by June in July
Summary: Samantha Darko hires a detective to investigate what it was that killed her brother in the accident that happened to her family 14 years in the past.
1. Chapter 1

I walked into the Empty hotel lobby. It was 1:30am, a Saturday. The crooked smile on the secretary's face wasn't very welcoming. My stomach was flooded with butterflies. I pulled myself together, and made my way towards the main desk.

"Name Please?" The woman behind the desk insisted.

"Samantha Darko." I replied, expressionless. I just wanted to get this night over with. "Another guest will be attending my room later. They will ask for my name." I added.

"Could you tell me their name please?" The lady at the desk took a note on a pad of paper.

"I don't know... Just send them to my room if they ask for 'Darko'." I said hesitantly. The lady smiled sarcastically.

"Room 119 on the 7th floor." She said handing me the room key. I took it and headed for the elevator. It had been 14 years since my brother had died from the strange accident. I am now 22 and old enough to hire a detective to find out what exactly killed my brother. This meeting meant the world to me.

The elevator beeped and the doors opened to the 7th floor. I pondered the halls until I was at door 119. I opened the door with my key, and hung my coat on the back of a chair. I opened the mini-fridge in the room and took out a champagne bottle and looked in the cupboard above it for two glasses. The room was quiet and luminescent signs from the city lit up the room. I closed the curtains and turned on the lights. Only one of the lights worked, so the room was dim. I walked into the bathroom to make myself presentable. I brushed off my red sleeveless dress and put on my diamond necklace. The windy weather turned my wavy brown hair into a tangle. I brushed it. There was a knock on the door that hiccuped from the long silence. I quickly finished brushing my hair and opened the door. There stood a man in a wrinkled white shirt, trashy jeans, and no shoes. His black hair was a mess that sat upon his head. His eyes rested on dark shadows.

"I am L." He stated awkwardly at the door. It was quiet for a moment.

"Please come in." I Welcomed him stepping to the side, holding open the door for him. He stood there looking around the room.

"Are you turning this into a date?" He accused me. I looked at him puzzled for a moment. I realized he was referring to the dimmed lighting, and the way I had dressed.

"Oh! No... I'm not... the other lights are just broken, and I didn't realize that this was considered a small occasion, so I dressed up." I explained. He finally came inside. I shut the door behind us.

"I understand your brother was crushed 14 years ago." He began, pulling his legs against his chest on the couch. I pouted at his strange posture.

"Yes-" I answered.

"And nobody can figure out what it was that killed him?"

"They think it was from a plane, But it was much too big."

"Can you show me a picture?"

"Sure..." I said reaching into my purse for a picture from the scene. I handed him the photograph.

"This is very interesting..." He said softly, studying the picture. I waited patiently for his response.

"Do you have any cake?" He answered after a few minutes. I was confused.

"Let me check..." I said heading towards the mini-fridge. "No... I don't." I said searching through the food. I looked in the cupboard to see if there was anything in there. "There are some cookies in her though..."

"Yes please!" He said excitedly. I handed him the cookie jar and sat down. He slowly munched down on a chocolate chip cookie, staring at me.

"Normally, strange things don't fall out of the sky and crush people. Am I correct?" He finally stated.

"Um... That would be correct." I responded puzzled.

"And the possibility of aliens is preposterous." He chuckled looking up at the ceiling. He took another bite of the cookie. "I do have an idea though..." He began. He finished his cookie, licking the crumbs off of his fingers. "A shinigami." He whispered with a smirk. I smiled casually.

"Isn't that Idea a little silly?" I mocked. He frowned.

"Have you heard of the Kira case?" He reminded me. I nodded. "We found the Kira who was substituting for the real Kira. However, this Kira was not the second Kira, He was merely a distraction for the investigation squad. But, before he was killed by the real Kira, he told us that a notebook was the source of the deaths of the criminals." He informed me. I couldn't believe this nonsense. My facial expression showed it, so he continued. "This notebook is called the 'Death Note'. I will not get into huge details of the note, but with this note, the owner can control the victims before his/her death. Before the note belongs to a human though, the original owner is a death god, a shinigami. I am now under suspicion that a shinigami has more abilities with a death note than a human... So it is possible that a shinigami is what killed your brother." He said this with a serious face. I had no choice but to believe him. L was the greatest detective on the planet. I studied the expression in his eyes. They were burning with curiosity and ideas. He reached for two cookies inside the cookie jar.

"Want a cookie?" He offered, holding one out to me while the other cookie was held between his teeth. I smiled and took it. Perhaps I would soon find out what it was that killed my brother, Donnie Darko.


	2. Chapter 2

L had to sleep in the chair across from the bed I had to sleep in. He seemed pretty comfortable, hugging his knees and sucking on his thumb that is... I woke up the next morning with his face inches away from mine. I flinched backwards in shock.

"AH! Whatare you _doing_?!" I said sharply.

"I'm studying your facial expression when you sleep. It's very interesting... You manage to make yourself look constipated, and when you begin to awake, your face shows relief." he said this as if it was a _normal_ thing. He backed away. I could see he was wearing a headband with bunny ears.

"What are you _wearing_?" I smiled raising an eyebrow.

"It's easter today, isn't it? A special day where you get candy. Some stores around here give out free candy early in the morning on this holiday. I already went out and got some." He pointed to a large basket sitting on the chair he slept in. The basket was half filled with sweets.

"Why did you only fill the basket half way?" I asked in curiosity.

"Um... I didn't... I just finished half of it before you woke up." He explained. I laughed.

"Alright, well I'm going to get dressed. Can I meet you in the lobby?" I half asked half ordered him. He left without a word.

I got dressed and brushed my hair then headed to the elevator. I entered the lobby and found L sitting on a sofa in the lobby, still wearing the bunny ears. He was shameless. I walked over to the chair next to him and sat down.

"Are you ready?" He asked, looking in another direction. I nodded. We both got up and walked out the door.

"You know the plan... right?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Yes..." I choked out. I was nervous. If I messed up, L might give up on my case... what was he thinking? We arrived at our destination 10 minutes later. L held the door open for me. I took a deep breath and walked in. It was dark and musty inside. In the corner of the room, I could see a portion of a face. His eyes flashed over to me in the darkness. Stepping out of the shadows, I could see his face. He was a tall boy with strawberry-blonde hair. A scar was pressed against his cheek, surrounding his eye. His was wearing leather pants and a leather shirt that looked to be a little too small for him, and in his hand, a chocolate bar.

"Who are you?" The stranger asked, keeping his distance from us.

"I am Ryuzaki, and this is Samantha." L stated. The stranger took a step closer to us and tilted his head to one side, studying our faces carefully.

"I... am Melo." The stranger smirked.

"Being in a dark, deserted place like this by yourself is a little suspicious... isn't it?" L mocked. Melo's smirk widened. He walked a little closer to us and pulled on a string that was hanging from the ceiling. The lights blinked on. I squinted for a second.

"I need _some_ place to keep my chocolate." Melo chuckled. L's eyes widened and my jaw dropped at what surrounded us. Giant shelves, stacked with boxes of chocolate bars circled the room.

"Why did you come?" Melo asked casually, taking a bite of his chocolate bar.

"Do you know anything about shinigami?" L almost whispered. Melo's eyes sparkled.

"I know... that one is standing next to me right now..." Melo smirked as a shadow covered his face. L and I looked around Melo's figure and saw nothing.

"Oh... I see..." L said sarcastically. "We'll just be going then." He half turned around.

"I can prove it!" Melo shouted, stopping L from taking another step. L turned back facing Melo.

"Shinigami, go over there and open a box of chocolate. Then eat one of the chocolate bars in there." Melo said turning to the empty space next to him. I raised an eyebrow. L and I looked over to where Melo pointed. I couldn't believe my eyes. A box was taken off of the shelf and floated next to it. The box was then being opened and dropped on the ground while one chocolate bar remained floating in the air. The wrapping on the chocolate bar began to peel off and it was slowly being eaten by nothing. My knees gave out and I fell onto the floor, shaking in fear. L's expression was casual, as if this was a normal thing.

"So I can see you have once been in contact with the Death Note." L added. Melo walked over to me and helped me up.

"That's true." He smirked, looking at me, still gripping my hand. I pulled my hand away and brushed myself off.

"You... can see it Melo... The shinigami...?" I choked out. He only smiled. "It doesn't scare you? To be followed by a death god?" I added, frustrated with his calm behavior.

"It did at first..." He began. "But then I realized what I had on my side..." He smirked at me. He knew I was scared, and he was mocking me.

"Do you still have your death note?" L asked.

"Unfortunately, no. It was hidden somewhere. I'm still looking for it now, so I can find Kira." Melo's facial expression turned blank.

"That's all we needed to know." L said grabbing my arm and turning us around. We walked out the door without another word, leaving Melo with his chocolate. I could feel his eyes on our backs until the big, metal door slammed shut.


	3. Chapter 3

"You didn't follow the plan..." L commented a few seconds after we left our meeting with Melo. I didn't say anything for a second.

"You showed that you were afraid. That could have led him to hide information from us. The plan almost failed." He explained.

"Oh... I'm sorry." I finally said. He said nothing, and after a few moments, he stood still. I stopped next to him in confusion.

"Let's go out to eat." He smiled.

"Sure." I laughed. We began walking again and looked for a restaurant. A cute little cafe' caught L's eye. We walked in there and got a table. L was sticking his nose into the tiny menu at our table as My mind wondered while I looked around the cafe'. I noticed a man about my age sitting at a table across from us alone. He was staring at me. I turned away and tried to ignore him.

The waitress finally came to our table.

"Good afternoon! I will be your waitress today. Is there anything I can get for you young couple?" The waitress asked.

"Oh um... we're not a couple." I explained. From the corner of my eye, I could see the man, sitting across from our table, smirk. I felt my face turn pale. What if this man was a pervert. L better not leave this table.

We ordered our meals and the waitress left us. L was looking down at his feet. He looked up at me and frowned.

"Why do you look so pale?" He asked.

"No reason. Just don't leave this table." I said kind of softly. He got up from his chair, warning me that he would leave.

"I'm leaving if you don't tell me." He teased. I looked at him in frustration.

"I can't tell you this second! Please sit down!" I barked. I felt sick. L paused and then sat back down.

"Fine. But only because you said 'please'." He smiled. I crossed my arms onto the table and rested my forehead on them.

"Sam, are you seriously OK? We can leave if you want." L comforted.

"I'm fine, I'm just confused. Besides, we already ordered."

"You'll feel better after you eat." He knew something was wrong, and he knew that it wasn't because I was confused. I lifted my head.

"OK." I smiled.

Our food finally came and I munched down on it as fast as I could so that we could leave. Luckily, L ate quickly as well. It seemed like forever, but we finally left. We were a few feet beyond the door when I realized that I had forgotten my Purse under my chair. L said that he would wait outside the door while I went to get it. I walked back inside the cafe', and right when I grabbed my purse, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched, spinning myself around quickly. It was the man who was staring at me earlier. I gasped as he grabbed my arm and ran me into the bathroom, locking the door behind us. I was about to scream, but he covered my mouth tightly. In an instant, he pinned me down to the floor, holding a knife, inches from my neck.

"Make a sound, and your head comes off!" The man said in a low, raspy voice. I gasped, holding in my voice.

"I know that you know where it is!" The man whipped these words at me. My eyes showed confusion, and he noticed.

"The death note." He whispered roughly into my ear.

"I don't have any idea why you would think I have it!" I replied in defense. His eyes burned with rage, and then the bathroom door flung open. I gasped as the man pinning me down was kicked against the wall, freeing me. I looked to see who saved me. It was a man with bright yellow hair. His right eyebrow curled up on one end and a cigarette hung from his lips. Policemen came in and arrested the man who threatened to kill me. Everything seemed to happen so fast. I walked over to the man who had saved me.

"Thank you." I said as he turned to me. His eyes sparkled when he saw me, and he looked like a huge flirt. Oh no...

"Well _hello_!" He said taking my hand. I was right. "My name is Sanji!" He introduced himself.

"I'm Samantha." I said politely.

"Well Samantha, I'm the head chef here, so feel free to come by anytime you'd like and have a meal on the house!" He offered in the most flirtatious way possible.

"How nice!" I smiled, taking my hand back. I looked around, trying to find L. I saw him looking around at the scene in confusion. I walked over to him. He looked over at me and grabbed my shoulders sternly.

"I let you go pick up your _purse_ by yourself for _one second_ and you end up almost getting murdered by some psycho!" He jokingly shouted at me. I half laughed. He kept one hand on my shoulder as we began to walk back to the hotel. On the long walk back, I tried to convince myself to tell L what the man said. Would he be mad at me for not pealing off more information from the man that threatened me? We opened the door to our hotel room and walked inside. I sighed a loud sigh as I let myself drop onto my bed.

"Do you have something on your mind?" L accused me. It was as if he had read my mind. I pushed myself up and sat down on the couch next to L's chair.

"Yea... I suppose..." I finally answered.

"No! You do not 'suppose', you _know_!" L corrected me.

"Then yes, I do!" I said sharply. I noticed my touchy temper and looked at him apologetically. He lifted my chin with his pointer and middle finger, examining my face.

"Then speak your thoughts."

"You won't get mad at me. Right? If I, perhaps, made a small mistake?" I tried to sound innocent so he'd take pity on me if I had made a mistake. He tilted his head at me. He took in a breath and closed his eyes.

"I promise not to get mad." He finally said.

"That man, back at the cafe', the one who almost killed me.... He said something about the death note." I explained. L's eyes sparkled. He tried to hide his excitement.

"What exactly did he say?" He asked removing his hand from under my chin.

"He said he knew that I knew where it was." My voice drifted off.

"Did you try to get more information from him?" L asked. My stomach got butterflies as my face was flooded with guilt.

"I'm sorry..." I apologized looking down at my feet. I looked back up at him. He rolled his eyes in a smile.

"We can test him tomorrow when we visit him in jail." He smirked. My face turned pale. I didn't want to visit a man who tried to kill me. L noticed my reaction to his comment.

"Don't worry..." He stood up and poked my nose with his pointer finger. "I'll protect you." He laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

I didn't sleep well that night. I was so worried about seeing that man in his jail cell. I had no idea what would happen. I felt sick. I sat up quickly and rushed to the bathroom in my tank-top and pajama pants. I didn't turn the lights in the bathroom, I jest went straight for the sink and threw up some of my worries. I rinsed my mouth out and heard a soft creak as the bathroom door opened half way. L stood there with no expression on his face. We stood there, looking at each other in silence, for a moment. He raised his eyebrow.

"I told you I would protect you." He reminded me. I felt sick and threw up again into the sink. He frowned.

"You don't believe me?" He asked giving me puppy-dog eyes. I said nothing for a moment. "It's OK..." He began. "I don't really look like much."

"It's not that!" I defended him. "I'm just... not sure what will happen at the jail tomorrow." He rolled his eyes.

"Everything will be fine. Besides, he's behind bars." L comforted in a teasing way.

"But... the things he might say or try to do... It will feel just as threatening." L walked over to me and held my head with his hands looking me directly in the eye.

"Nothing will happen, and I will be there the whole time!" He finally convinced me. I half smiled.

"Alright..." I gave in. "Now we should get some sleep." He let go of me as we walked out of the bathroom. I got into bed, took a deep breath, and closed my eyes as I slowly drifted off to sleep. I woke up the next morning with a muffin on a trey on my stomach. I heard the shower on in the bathroom and didn't see L around. He was taking a shower. The muffin was probably from him too. I ate the muffin and got dressed before L got out of the shower. I heard the shower turn off a few moments after.

"Could you please go out of the room for a minute?" L called from the bathroom.

"Sure." I called back, grabbing the room key and heading out the door. I waited a while and called to L, "Can I come back in?".

"Sure but I don't have a shirt on yet. Just warning you." L called back.

"It's OK to show chest if your a guy." I laughed. I opened the door. L turned to me with his shirt in his hand, and for some reason, I blushed. I probably just wasn't used to seeing an attractive guy without a shirt. But did I really think that L was attractive?

_"No, that can't be it... I'm just tired and confused with everything going on... That's all..." _I thought to myself. L put on his shirt and walked over to me.

"Are you ready to visit that man?" L asked. "If not, I can give you more time, but we're going to have to go sometime if you want this case to go anywhere sometime soon."

"Yes... I'm ready..." I took in a deep breath, trying to rid of the butterflies that danced in my stomach. I opened the door, and we walked down the hall to the elevator. The elevator ride down seemed to take forever, and for some reason, it felt kind of awkward.

"Oh, thanks for the muffin!" I remembered to fill in the silence. He turned to me and smiled.

"No problem! I got four and decided to give one of them to you."

"You ate three muffins this morning?!"

"Yep! But I'm still hungry..." He looked down at his stomach and held it with one hand. I laughed. The elevator doors finally opened. We walked outside of the hotel and stood just outside the doors.

"I'll call a cab." He offered taking out his cell phone. The cab arrived 10 minutes later. L told the cab driver the address of the jail.

"$8.50" The cab driver insisted for the fair. I opened my purse, about to pull out some money, but L touched my hand to stop me.

"It's OK, I'll pay." He smiled. I blushed again. Why was I acting and feeling so weird?! I took in a deep breath. I had to get a hold of myself. L reached into his pocket and handed over the money to the cab driver. The car ride was taking a long time. I felt my head get heavy from car sickness. I rested my head on L's shoulder. L looked at me with a surprised look on his face.

"Are you tired or something?" L asked. I lifted my head up in shock, not realizing what I had done.

"AH! Um... I'm sorry! I just felt a little car sick... and your shoulder was right there! I-I'm... uh... sorry!!!" I choked out. L smiled at me.

"It's fine. Haha... you can rest on my shoulder if you want." I blushed, and turned away to hide my embarrassed expression.

"It's OK... That was rude of me... to do something so informal like that to someone I'm not in a relationship with. I'm sorry..." L just looked at me with a confused expression. We arrived at the jail later. We got out of the cab and headed for the entrance. I could feel my stomach begin to turn. I kept taking in deep breaths to comfort myself, and then I looked over at L and suddenly, I felt safe. I didn't worry anymore. My behavior towards him was getting weird since this morning... I wonder why I feel so attached to him...

We entered the main room and talked to the policeman, asking for the man who tried to commit a murder at a cafe' the day before. The policeman knew who we were talking about and led us to his cell to see whom we asked to see. We stopped in front of the man's cell. He was sitting on a stool in the corner. When we arrived, he looked over at us, and his eyes burned with rage when he noticed me. I took a step back when I recognized his anger.

"YOU KNOW!!!" the man screamed, clutching onto the slim metal bars that separated us.


	5. Chapter 5

I gasped at the rage that bled from the man behind the bars. L stepped out in front of me, shielding me with his arm as a way of comforting me. I couldn't help but ponder his calm expression.

"What does she know?" L asked in a calm tone.

"She knows... where the notebook was hidden! The death note!" The man barked.

"Do you?" He asked looking at me.

"Of course not!" I answered back.

"There you have it." He confirmed looking back at the man in the jail cell.

"SHE TOOK IT WHILE I WAS SLEEPING! THEN SHE HID IT!!!" The man yelled.

"Then how do you know it was her if you were asleep?" L mocked.

"She told me! IN MY DREAMS! SHE'S A DEATH GOD!" The man screamed as he collapsed onto the floor of his jail cell. L noticed me trembling.

"Our business here is finished. We can leave." He turned to me biting his thumb nail. I nodded. L put his arm around me to comfort me. I stopped trembling right away, blushing at his touch.

"You seem to be comforted easily when in comforting physical contact with an acquaintance." L stated. I said nothing, still in shock from the loud, disturbing scene that occurred in front of me.

"You seem really tense. Do you want to go back to the hotel to relax?" L asked me.

"Uhuh..." I squeaked out. My face was pale. That man, screaming and accusing me of holding a murdering weapon, made me feel so nervous. I was so glad that L was there.

We got back to the hotel later. We had to call another cab for transportation back. When we entered our hotel room, I collapsed onto the couch.

"I'm going to the bakery across the street. A slice of cake should make you feel better." L offered.

"Sure." I squeaked. I had forgotten how to project my voice. As soon as I heard the door shut, and I knew that L's presence was gone, I got up and walked over to my suitcase. In an instant, I found myself unpacking my laptop and reading the email thread of the conversation between me and L.

"Ryuzaki- Your case sounds interesting... I'll work on it with you.

Samantha- Thank you so much! When and where should we meet?

Ryuzaki- I'm sorry... I don't trust people to see my face. I can't meet with you in person.

Samantha- That's not fair, since you have all of my information including a photo and the coordinates of my home

Ryuzaki- … Please just cooperate with me

Samantha- I'm sorry, but I might have to find someone else to work on this case with me

Ryuzaki- This might help with the other case my investigation squad is working on though... Fine. We shall meet in person exactly one week from now at the Lightbrick Hotel (map-quest it), at 1:30am. Don't be late, don't speak a word to anyone of what I tell you about the Kira case while we meet (you will possibly need information on the Kira case while we investigate), and don't tell anybody that I am L. Those are the only requirements for our meeting. Do you understand?

Samantha- I understand. Thank you."

But then I wondered why L didn't trust me to see his face at first. Did he ever have a suspicion of me possibly being, or having anything to do with Kira? The problem with L was that you could almost never read his expressions. What was he thinking during every moment he spent with me? I felt my head spin, so I switched off my laptop and lay down on my bed. The moments without company were dull, and haunting flashbacks, of the incident at the cafe' the other day, bounced around my skull, like a strobe light. I got dizzy and fell asleep. I woke up at 7:00pm that evening. My stomach was empty, and begging me to feed it. I moaned in hunger.

"Oh, you're finally awake." L teased. I looked away, embarrassed. "Do you still want that cake?" He asked. I blinked at him. I didn't really think he'd save it for me after I'd fallen asleep.

"Thanks." I smiled. He picked up a small, glass plate with a big slice of angel food cake on it. I was so hungry, that I took the plate and ate the slice of cake with my hands, in front of him. I must have looked like a pig. He laughed at me.

"I can see you like sweet things too..." He commented. I noticed my uncivilized behavior and blushed.

"Oh! Um... sorry, I'm just so hungry!" I tried to laugh along with him. He looked at me with a blank expression.

"Should we go out for dinner?" He asked. "You didn't eat lunch..."

"Sure!" I said without hesitation. "Let's go for ramen!" I was excited to eat. L smiled.

"Is that your favorite food?" He asked.

"Well... actually... I've never had ramen before and I've always wanted to try it..." I confessed. L's eyes widened. Had I said something wrong?

"You've NEVER had ramen?!" He sounded surprised as he put his hands on my shoulders. I shook my head. In moments, he grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door, not giving me a chance to grab my purse and said, "Let's go." I laughed at his enthusiasm.

"You won't laugh once you taste some." He said without looking at me. I wasn't sure how to react to the serious tone in his voice. But for some reason, I had an urge to kiss him... Had I fallen for L?!

"_No... that's ridiculous... He's completely not my type!_" I thought to myself. From then on, I had to be careful with myself. I could end up doing something I would regret. I didn't want to embarrass myself. We arrived in front of a Japanese restaurant sooner than I had thought. L was still holding my wrist. We walked inside and he got us a table. After we ordered, our ramen came quickly. I looked over at L before I had a taste. He was picking up tangled lumps of noodles in his chopsticks and stuffing them into his mouth as fast as he could. I struggled with my chopsticks for a moment and then tried my first mouthful of ramen noodles. L looked at me, waiting for my reaction.

"Oh... my... god..." were the only words I managed to get out after eating a mouthful of bliss. L smiled and said, "I told you! Haha!"


End file.
